heidi's here
by aussiechick00
Summary: Ulrich's cousin Heidi is coming to Kadic and Ulrich is less then happy about it. Heidi is a complete goth and never ceases to insult and annoy everyone she's around. but Heidi has a secret which is the meaning of her sullen and sulky nature...YxU
1. Chapter 1

"_you have a gift,"_

"_feels more like a curse..."_

"_it can be, but only if you use it unwisely..."_

Heidi lifted her deep black haired head off her pillow. She looked upset. And she had been ever since _that_ day. She swallowed, trying her hardest not to make any noise, so as not to upset her parents. She slipped off her bed and wandered to the dressing table. It was almost empty, except for three charcoal black eyeliner pencils, a case of dark eye shadow and alabaster white foundation. She ran her finger along them all with her black nails. It was the first day of the holidays, but the last day of living in England.

"honey," came an almost silent voice. Heidi turned to face her mother, who looked troubled, almost afraid of the gothic girl. Heidi's white contact lenses showed no emotion, making her seem like an alien. Of course she didn't need the contacts, but she enjoyed scaring people with the whiteness of her eyes.

"the plane is going to leave in about three hours, so we're leaving at about quarter to nine," her mum told her in a thick northern accent. Heidi nodded and turned away.

"three hours till my life get's taken away from me," she responded, her voice monotone, "thanks, _mother,_" she added accusingly. Her mum tried to step in, but Heidi gave her a dangerous look. Her mum smiled a tiny bit, and then left. Heidi turned back to her makeup, which she began to apply carefully. I'm coming to see you, cousin. She thought in mock enthusiasm.

"Odd, you stole my last croissant again, I was just late this morning!" Jeremy scolded. He glared at Odd with genuine annoyance. Odd looked at him mercifully. He had already taken a bite out of the croissant, and held it in his left hand casually. He looked between the croissant and Jeremy. Hastily he offered it.

"I can give the rest back too if you want," he joked. Ulrich and Aelita laughed. Jeremy pushed Odd's arm out of the way and sat down.

"no thanks," he snapped sullenly.

"look who got up on the wrong side of the bed today," Aelita commented. Jeremy shrugged and began to eat.

"speaking of getting up on the wrong side of the bed, Ulrich, you haven't even touched your breakfast," Odd said, "can I have it?" he asked greedily, staring at Ulrich's untouched pancakes. Ulrich pushed his tray to Odd, who practically inhaled it along with the food.

"I'm not very hungry," he said. Aelita turned to him.

"uh oh, let me guess, did you get into a fight with Yumi?" she asked. Ulrich shook his head, "have to go on "date" with Sissi? Lost your diary again?" Ulrich continued to shake his head and then looked up at Aelita with a blush.

"who told you about my diary?" he barked. Aelita, Odd and Jeremy laughed. Ulrich found it hard to keep from strangling one of them. but he slouched in his chair instead and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"actually, my cousin's coming over from England," he mumbled.

"and that's a bad thing?" Jeremy asked.

"yes it's a bad thing," Ulrich snapped as if it was obvious, "she's a complete goth, and she's coming to the academy, you can't believe how depressing she can be," he grumbled. Aelita and Odd exchanged a glance.

"you know, you can be a little depressing too, so she must be bad..." Odd said. Ulrich shot him a look. Odd chuckled lightly. Ulrich felt two hands cover his eyes,

"guess who," said a high, sweet voice. Ulrich heard Odd snort in laughter and Aelita giggle. Ulrich smelt strongly perfumed hands and non calloused hands. Definitely not Yumi.

"hi Sissi," he sighed uninterested. The hands in front of his face moved and wrapped round him tightly. He rolled his eyes.

"oh, your so smart Ulrich sweetie!" Sissi sang.

"yeah, unlike her," Odd whispered. Sissi shot him a glance and then kissed Ulrich's cheek as he stared at her with utter disdain.

"Ulrich, there's this really depressing chick in my father's office. She's with your parents, do you know her?" she asked Ulrich stiffly. Ulrich nodded. He pushed Sissi off him and pulled on his bag, before standing up and trudging out of the lunch hall. Yumi was standing there. Her hair shone against the Summer Sun and her pretty face smiled when she saw Ulrich. Ulrich couldn't help but blush. Yumi giggled and rolled her eyes.

"good morning," she sang welcomingly. Ulrich's blush vanished and he went back to being sullen. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. Yumi frowned.

"not-so-good morning," he muttered back. Yumi raised an eyebrow, "my cousin's coming to the academy," Ulrich explained. Yumi smiled again.

"come on, she can't be that bad," she said.

"how'd you know she's a girl?" Ulrich asked. Yumi shrugged,

"call it women's intuition," she joked, taking hold of Ulrich's elbow and pulling him to the principal's office.

Heidi POV

Heidi was silent as she was in the waiting room. She never once looked at her parents, holding her suitcase tight in her gloved hands. The waiting room felt sultry and confusing for her. She was getting headaches again. She remembered things which had never happened to her, as if she was reliving them. there were people she hadn't met before and places she hadn't been to. She held her head to hold her brains in. And realised someone else was in the waiting room now. She looked up. a boy with dark brown hair and a reluctant look on his face with a Japanese looking girl who was smiling while holding onto the boy's arm to keep him from leaving. It was her cousin, Ulrich.

"Ulrich," Heidi said to him. Ulrich rolled his eyes and tried to leave. But the girl next to him pulled him back.

"but I don't want to talk to her," Ulrich whined. The girl held her finger up to his nose.

"you are going to talk to her or so help me I will kick you into next week," she threatened. Ulrich glared at the girl for a few moments, before the girl folded her arms and tapped her foot. Ulrich rolled his eyes and trudged over to Heidi.

"hi, Heidi," he muttered stiffly, "nice to see you," he added, while still shooting a look at the girl, who held a thumb up and ran out. Heidi folded her arms and looked away from him.

"if you don't want to talk to me then you can leave, I don't talk to idiots," she snapped. Ulrich bit his lip and clenched his fists. He breathed in and out.

"nice to see you again, Ulrich," Heidi's mum said. Ulrich looked at her and smiled discretely. He opened his mouth to say something.

"Ulrich doesn't want to talk to us, he's got class anyway," Heidi interrupted. Ulrich glared at her and left.

"Ulrich, darling, wait!" Heidi's mum said. but Ulrich ignored her and stepped out. Heidi's mum turned to Heidi with a disappointed face. Heidi looked at her indifferently.

"I hope your proud of yourself," her mum scolded. Heidi smiled darkly.

"um, Miss Stern, the principal is ready to see you now," the secretary announced. Heidi's face fell and she stood up and headed into the principal's office.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ulrich POV

Ulrich, Odd, Jeremy and Aelita sat in Mrs Meyer's class. She was telling them about the properties of advanced calculus, but no one was really paying attention. Ulrich sat solemnly at his desk. He was sitting alone, because Odd was with his latest girlfriend, and Jeremy and Aelita were sitting together as usual. Ulrich glanced at Odd from across the class. Odd gave him a thumbs up and gestured to the girl next to him. She was pretty, with long red curls that fell to her middle. She was blushing and she smiled with pearly white teeth whenever Odd spoke to her. Ulrich chuckled and began to write out his notes. Suddenly the door at the front of the class opened. Mr Delmas stood there with a humble look on his face.

"oh, good morning Mr Delmas," Mrs Meyer said. she shot the class a look.

"good morning Principal Delmas," the class welcomed. Mr Delmas smiled and stepped inside.

"good morning students, I am here to introduce a new student to your class," he announced, "well come in then," he ordered, looking to the door. the class all looked at the door. Ulrich shrank back into his chair, dreading this. A girl walked into the room. She had dyed black hair that was straight and slightly scruffy. Her eyes had a huge amount of eyeliner and makeup, along with almost white skin. It was Heidi. Heidi didn't smile, but she wandered in and stood at the front of the class, watching each of the students with disdain and reluctance. Ulrich looked at Odd. Odd gestured to Heidi and mouthed "that's her?" Ulrich nodded. Odd raised his eyebrows and looked at Heidi.

"this is Heidi Stern, she's come from England, I believe she is your cousin, Ulrich," Mr Delmas introduced, looking at Ulrich. Ulrich shrank further back into his seat as he felt all eyes fall onto him.

"well, I'll leave you to it, Mrs Meyer," Mr Delmas said to fill the awkwardness. He moved out of the room with one glance at Sissi, who was staring in disgust at Heidi. Mrs Meyer walked over to Heidi and attempted to put her hand on her shoulder. Heidi shrugged her off almost immediately and gave her a threatening look.

"well Heidi, where shall we put you? You came quite late in the year, but I'm sure you'll catch up," Mrs Meyer assured. Her eyes fell onto Ulrich, who clenched his fists and almost broke his pencil. "Ulrich, can you take care of your cousin?" Heidi's head snapped towards Ulrich with shock in her white eyes. Mrs Meyer smiled at her. Ulrich glared at Heidi as she trudged over to his desk and sat down, moving as far away from him as possible.

"you know, you're making it really hard for me to get along with you," Ulrich whispered. Heidi looked at him from the corner of her eye and narrowed her eyebrows.

"maybe that's because I don't want to get along with you," she snapped back. Ulrich growled.

"you sound like you're from bloody London," he mocked, imitating her cockney accent. Heidi glared at him.

"if you're done?" Heidi snapped, "faggot," she muttered. Ulrich stood up and stared down at Heidi.

"what did you just call me?" he demanded. Aelita and Jeremy blinked.

"I'm guessing they have family issues?" Aelita tried.

"I swear all she ever wants to do is insult me," Ulrich moaned. He and the others were in the lunch hall.

"come on, she's new, I remember being new, I felt hostile as well, so I wasn't that good at making friends," Yumi assured.

"yumi's right, Ulrich. You have to give her a chance," Jeremy added. Ulrich stared at all of them, who nodded. He crossed his arms sulkily. Yumi put her hand on his shoulder.

"Ulrich, you know its the right thing to do, we'll believe you if it's true," she cooed. Ulrich sighed and looked at her with a stubborn face.

"if you give Heidi a break, then I promise I won't eat mashed potatoes for two whole weeks,"

"yeah I'll believe that when I see it," Aelita cut in. Yumi grinned. Ulrich rolled his eyes. the others turned to see Heidi standing in line to collect her lunch. She noticed people were looking at her and looked at the gang. They smiled, including Ulrich and gestured to the chair next to Yumi. Heidi blinked her eyes and wandered over to them. she sat down.

"nice to meet you, Heidi," Odd said, holding out his hand. Heidi stared at his hand until he dropped it awkwardly. "this is Aelita, my cousin," Odd grinned at Aelita mischievously, "Yumi, Jeremy and you already know Ulrich," he introduced.

"hello," Yumi said. Heidi looked at her. Aelita smiled at her.

"so your Ulrich's cousin?" Aelita asked. Heidi's head flipped to Aelita. She nodded, but she didn't smile. She glanced at Ulrich with the corner of her eye and narrowed her eyebrows. Ulrich glared back until Odd kicked his leg.

"unfortunately," Ulrich stood up in a hurry. All heads snapped up to him.

"Ulrich, where are you going?" Yumi pleaded worriedly, she had never seen him hate someone so much.

"I'm going out, I need some air," Ulrich responded gruffly and coldly. Heidi stood up about five seconds after.

"ditto," she muttered and stormed out. Odd watched her confusedly. He looked down at her tray and then looked up at Yumi.

"does that mean I can have her chocolate pudding?" he asked cheerily. Yumi crossed her arms and raised a frustrated eyebrow. She too stood up and ran out, after passing her, Heidi and Ulrich's trays to Odd. Jeremy, Aelita and Odd watched her leave.

"uh, remind me to stay away from all of them," Jeremy said, "for the next few centuries," he added. Aelita and Odd laughed. "you have to admit though, Ulrich's cousin is pretty hot," Aelita snapped her head towards Jeremy and crossed her arms.

"then again, you think that writing complicated mathematical problems is erotic," she snapped at him.

"Ulrich! Where are you going?" Yumi called as she chased after Ulrich. The stubborn boy was still sulky, and seemingly trying to run away from everything. Yumi rolled her eyes, "since when did he get so fast?" she muttered as she sped up. suddenly, she couldn't see him anymore. She crossed her arms in frustration. Soon though, as she turned to go back to the lunchroom, she saw Heidi storming over to the dorm rooms. She raised an eyebrow and then glared. Quickly, Yumi chased after Heidi.

Heidi stepped into her room and pulled of her gloves and jumper. She needed time to think. There was everything she hated here and it was all so overwhelming. Suddenly, there was a shadow in the doorway. Heidi glanced up to the door and saw Yumi standing there. She didn't change her expression, and she turned away from the girl.

"hey you, listen up," Yumi barked, spinning Heidi's chair around, "what is your problem? Ulrich is just trying to be friendly and all your doing is being a complete dork, what is with you?" she ranted. Heidi glared up at Yumi. Her expression was blank and impassive. Like she cared what anyone else thought, if she warmed up to anyone, she would be screwed, if she didn't, she was screwed as well. Yumi stared angrily at the girl.

"hey are you deaf or what?" she growled. Before Heidi knew what was happening, Yumi had grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

"No!" Heidi screamed. She smacked Yumi off her and grabbed hold of her head, screaming in confusion and pain. Thousands of images flashed before her eyes. there was a family of four, Yumi, and three others. Japanese culture and martial arts flashed in front of her eyes and millions of emotions and feelings bounced in and out of her brain. Then there was Ulrich, holding hands with Yumi, almost kissing her, blushing, talking, and giving Yumi a birthday present. Everything in Yumi's mind fell like a pile of bricks into Heidi's. Yumi stared at her in shock, feeling slightly light headed.

"what just happened?" she breathed. Suddenly, Heidi stopped screaming, and just breathed heavily, seemingly the pain disappeared. Heidi opened her eyes and glared at Yumi.

"get. Out," she threatened. Yumi didn't ask questions, and left without a trace.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"it was so weird, it was like, I don't even know, like she and I just, connected. But it only last a second," Yumi explained. she was walking to the front entrance of the school with Ulrich. Ulrich didn't respond. But he seemed like he understood what she meant.

"well, it would certainly explain why she wears so much weird clothes," he remarked. Yumi tried to smile, but she was too weirded out. Hiroki was with Milly at the front entrance, seemingly trying to flirt. Yumi and Ulrich stopped walking a few metres away from them. they exchanged a glance of awe.

"cute, I guess I'll have to break up his little love fest, see you tomorrow," Yumi said with a grin. She headed off and got a hold of Hiroki, soon after heading out of the school grounds. Once she was gone, Ulrich returned to being sullen and closed off. He wandered quietly to Odd, Aelita and Jeremy.

"feeling better?" Odd asked cheerfully. Ulrich glanced at all of their bright faces. He shook his head

"no," he said. "I still hate Heidi more than Sissi," the others looked at each other solemnly. They looked back at Ulrich, who was glaring at the dorm door. they realised Heidi was standing there. She had changed into something a bit looser, but still covered herself almost completely. She seemed a bit different though. She didn't have as much makeup on and her contact lenses had been taken out. What's more her stance slightly resembled that of Yumi's. Her bangs had been clipped back too. She wasn't smiling, but she was watching Ulrich without the glare she had before, more in confusion and worry.

"what?" Ulrich snapped. Heidi blinked and managed to give them all a small smile, before heading to the study hall. The gang watched her leave in shock. Ulrich's eyes looked like globe's they were so big. Odd turned to him. Aelita and Jeremy did too.

"Ulrich, close your mouth you codfish," Aelita instructed. Ulrich did so and he blinked a few times.

"okay, she's put "voodoo curses" on people, tried to wake the dead, cried when my mum told her she looked nice," he said, "but that was the weirdest thing she's ever done," he evaluated.

Heidi sat in the study hall. She had a book in front of her, but she wasn't actually reading it. she didn't understand. She didn't feel the need to _insult_ her cousin. In fact, she wanted to _speak_ to him. Everything was confusing her at the moment. She wanted to smile, and show her face. It was as if she was a different person. And she knew why. She clenched her fists tightly. It was all that stupid Yumi's fault. If she hadn't...Heidi shook her head and began to read again.

"hi there Heidi," came a squeaky voice. Heidi glanced up to see a pretty girl. She had mid length dark brown hair. her face was covered in makeup so much that you could tap her cheek and there would be smoke. She was smiling at Heidi darkly, as if she knew a secret about her. Heidi couldn't help but dislike her. There was no reason for it, but she just had a feeling that this was a bad egg.

"what do you want?" she asked quietly, looking back down at her book. The girl smiled.

"I just wanted to be friends, I'm Sissi Delmas, the principal's daughter," she said. Heidi rolled her eyes. "I noticed you were Ulrich's cousin, right?" Sissi asked. Heidi nodded absently. "well, he and I are destined to be together, and since you're probably close to him, being his cousin and all, I wanted to see if you would tell him how right for each other he and I are," Sissi requested. Heidi looked up at her, unable to believe her stupidity.

"sorry, but your asking the wrong girl, you should ask that Yumi girl, she's closer to Ulrich than I am," she muttered, "but don't hold your breath, I have the impression Yumi likes him too," she added stiffly, for some reason disliking the idea. Sissi narrowed her eyes. she scoffed and stormed off in annoyance.

"your welcome!" Heidi called after her. Suddenly she covered her mouth with both her gloved hands. Did she just give a witty comeback? Things were seriously going wrong, and she needed to sort it out. She pushed herself up and shut the book. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She mouthed a swear word and slowly tilted her head up to see a tall, jet black haired boy standing over her. He was good looking, with a little smirk on his face and opportunity in his velvety blue eyes. he seemed to have had an idea. As if he wanted Heidi's help.

"and you are?" Heidi asked slickly. She was amazed by her newly found talking expertise.

"William Dunbar, it's so nice to meet you. Your Ulrich's cousin, am I right?" William conversed. Heidi raised an eyebrow. She felt something odd about this boy.

"who cares?" she said. William let his arm hang loosely across Heidi's shoulders.

"I think you could help me out a lot," he said smoothly.

Ulrich carelessly tossed a coin into the hot chocolate machine, watching as the smooth chocolate drink poured relentlessly into a small paper cup. He quickly picked it up and turned on his heels. Jeremy and Aelita were going over notes and Odd was playing on a video game, again. He thought about Yumi. She seemed oddly persistent lately, not like herself at all. He smiled. It was probably just her trying to be his conscience. Either way, he felt a sudden pit in his stomach a few seconds after. He snapped his head up and dropped his hot chocolate. Odd looked at Ulrich.

"what's with you butter fingers?" he asked. He saw Ulrich's shocked expression and looked up. not seeing anything unusual. William was talking with Heidi by the arches. Ulrich looked horrified by this, though nothing like if William was talking to Yumi.

"why is she talking to that scumbag?" Ulrich growled. Odd looked at Ulrich.

"so you do care about your cousin?" he asked. Ulrich glared at William still. Heidi shouted out "you want me to do _what_?" in a amused and at the same time horrified way. William kept her facing him softly, as if he were asking, no, demanding something while trying to keep a steady temper.

"I'm not sure why," he snarled. He marched over to them fast, if anyone had passed in front of him at that point he would probably have ploughed them to the ground.

"Heidi, move it," he warned. Heidi looked at his angered face and did what she was told, stepping back. Ulrich walked to William. They had grown to about the same height, Ulrich just a few millimetres taller than him now.

"first Yumi, now my cousin? Do you ever get enough of trying to wreck my life?" he barked. William stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Ulrich, you don't get it, I only like Yumi, you can even ask your cousin," he explained calmly. he looked at Heidi over Ulrich's shoulder, "think about it, kid," and winked softly. Ulrich snarled as William strutted off. He turned to Heidi. Heidi looked up at him defensively. She managed a tiny smile and then ran off.


	4. Chapter 4

**I know. This chapter is pitiful but yh. I wasn't really finding it too easy to finish it lol. If anyone wants to finish it for me, well, thank you so much. And you can take all the credit . .**

Chapter 4

Heidi sat in history class. She was watching Ulrich with curiosity from the other side of the room. It shocked her that he had been concerned about her; Though it was probably just because that William guy liked Yumi. That thought saddened her. She shook her head hastily and looked away from Ulrich.

"you alright?" Heidi snapped her head to the side. That Odd kid had moved from the opposite table and was discretely slipping into the seat next to her. He smiled at Heidi. Heidi felt her cheeks a bit red and then looked away, confused. No one had smiled at her before, not a real smile at least.

"who are you?" she asked. Odd blinked. He seemed to smile in astonishment.

"I'm Odd, duh, every girl with taste knows that," he teased. Heidi laughed, but never smiled. She looked at his face. he was waiting for a smile. "there you see, laughing feels good," he cooed. Heidi felt herself smile. She then covered her mouth and turned away. She still didn't understand this. But soon she turned back to him, smiling properly, but feeling awfully uncomfortable. Odd's grin faded into a curious frown.

"you okay?" he asked. Heidi breathed in and out, and nodded assuringly.

"fine, and you?" she remarked. She then looked down, it was as if she couldn't control what she was saying. Odd blinked. Even he was shocked by her sudden normal behaviour. But soon he smiled again, happy he had managed to budge Heidi's cold streak.

"yeah, so, what's it like in England?" he asked. Heidi smiled with a small blush.

"for the last time, no," Heidi steamed darkly. William had been following her for the last twenty minutes, trying to get her to agree.

"come on, Heidi. You can really help me! and annoy your cousin at the same time," William moaned. Heidi stopped in her tracks with her fists clenched. She span round and waggled her index finger at William, pushing him backwards.

"no, no, no, no, NO!" she shouted, "what does it take with you? Messing with my cousin is my thing, not for sharing, and I don't particularly want to help you!" she cried at him as she backed him up against a wall.

"do yourself a favour and try and get Yumi yourself, I don't want to have anything to do with it!" she exclaimed. William blinked. He then began to smile.

"are you sure?" he asked, staring at Heidi with pretty eyes. Heidi looked away, knowing coming into contact would be bad. Then she looked him in the face with a deadly glare.

"yes I'm sure. I'm sick of everyone wanting me to help them. no one wants to be MY friend, they just want to use me to get to everyone else! So do it yourself, I'm out!" she barked storming away. William took a moment to register what had happened but soon his confused face transformed into dark cheekiness. He would get what he wanted. He had her right where he wanted her.

"wake up wake up Kadic! The Kadic Herald is back kids so you better get ready for some super scoops! Miss Hertz starts a science club to "teach you rapscallions what science is all about!" Jim Morales gets engaged with a mystery woman working at the school and a school dance on Friday for all who are interested in the musical talent of Aelita Stones and William Dunbar!" Milly and Tamiya were calling that around the entire school. Nothing would stop them from getting a scoop. They saw Heidi from the corner of the dormitory rooms. She was watching them curiously, seemingly unsure. Milly and Tamiya exchanged and glance and jogged over to her with a smile. Heidi wasn't much taller than them, being a short girl.

"your that new girl right?" Milly asked. Heidi nodded. She shrunk back when Milly pulled a video camera out of her bag.

"we wanna do an article on you, everyone's super curious about you," Tamiya giggled, grabbing a notebook. Heidi looked between the two girls. Their optimistic smiling eyes made Heidi feel suddenly happy. She smiled.

"sure, as long as there are no cameras," she said. the girl's eyes lit up.

"okay, Tamiya, get your notebook ready, this is gonna be the scoop of the year!" Milly laughed.

"where's Yumi today anyway?" Ulrich asked. Heidi stopped in her tracks. She listened carefully to her cousin's conversation.

"dunno, she must be sick or something," Odd responded.

"want me to call her?" Aelita asked. Ulrich shook his head. he was suddenly worried. Yumi was never sick. Was it to do with what happened with Heidi? He didn't know. Personally, he didn't care.

"she is sick," Heidi murmured. All eyes turned to her. Ulrich watched her oddly. Odd smiled and waved. Heidi blushed. "she's got a fever, I can tell," she mumbled. Jeremy and Aelita exchanged a glance.

"fever, shame," Jeremy muttered.

"how do you know?" Odd asked cautiously. He jumped up and wandered over, pulling Heidi to them by her wrist. He knew she disliked being touched on the hands from their earlier conversation.

"uh, I dunno," Heidi said softly. She did know. It was to do with their new connection. Heidi knew what Yumi was thinking, and Yumi knew what she was thinking. "I must have called her earlier or something," she said. Ulrich sceptically nodded.

"so, Heidi," he began. The others perked up and looked at him. But he couldn't find the words he was looking for. "how are you liking Kadic?" he asked tightly. Heidi blinked. Her head began to hurt, it must be Yumi shouting.

"it's, uh, very...nice," Heidi muttered. This whole situation was very uncomfortable for her. Ulrich offered a hesitant hand to shake. He tried to smile but seemed to not quite manage it. Heidi stared at his hand. She pulled her long sweater over her hand and reached forward. Suddenly Ulrich's phone rang. Heidi saw his face flood with relief and felt a sharp pain in her chest. Ulrich yanked away and answered the phone.

"yeah?" he said. His face fell slightly, "where are you Yumi?" he sounded like a protective big brother. Suddenly Ulrich hung up the phone. His face was pale and worry plastered his eyes open.

"what happened?"

"she's going to the hospital," Ulrich announced. He looked at Heidi's concerned face, "this is your fault isn't it? Everything that's happened to her has been your _fault_!" he exclaimed at her and ran off. It was a deafening silence after that. Aelita whispered something to Jeremy, then jogged after Ulrich. Jeremy and Odd stared at her with pity and confusion. Odd stepped forward but Heidi held up a hand. Her eyes darkened again almost instantly.

"this is why I don't make friends." Her words were icicles as she stormed darkly away from them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Yumi paced in the hospital room she was in. her head was throbbing slightly, still not used to the connection between Heidi and her own brain. It hurt to think and to move, but Yumi couldn't help it. She didn't want to lie down, the bed across from her stank of antiseptics and reminded her of death and illness. She was mentally cursing herself for how vulnerable she had sounded over the phone. She remembered what she had asked Ulrich "_please don't leave me alone here,"_ and she swore loudly. She wasn't sure if it was to do with making him worry or whether she had just sounded like a major sap. Ever since she had seen Heidi, she was always concerned about feeling too much – so feeling so unsure and vulnerable made her want to scream. There was a sharp pain in her hands then, and Yumi looked down to see her hands covered in a thin layer of blood where her nails had pierced her skin. As she ground her teeth, Yumi let herself flop onto the cold, plastic blanketed bed. She let her head fall into her hands and didn't mind the coppery smelling blood that smeared her pale forehead. There were footsteps outside and Yumi glanced up fast, before pulling herself properly into the bed and sucked the blood off her hands.

"yumi?" called a familiar voice. The knot in Yumi's stomach unwound and she released a relieved sigh. William's head poked around the door. He looked relieved to see her, until he noticed the blood on her forehead and jogged over.

"no, don't freak out, seriously. That's not blood!" Yumi said, holding her hands up, "well it is, but its from my hands, not my head," she clarified. William's worried face curled into a smile and he chuckled.

"your acting so different to usual. Is anything the matter? Miss "William, we're just friends"?" he joked. Yumi looked at his eager face as he dabbed away the blood with a tissue that seemed to appear out of nowhere. She knew what he was doing. Tenderly she pushed him back.

"please William, don't," she pleaded. William looked taken aback. "I wasn't kidding. Please, stop," she added. William dropped the tissue and grabbed hold of her hands.

"stop what? Caring? You know I can't do that. I've done everything for you, and you've given nothing back to me apart from "friendship"" he told her, "how can I stop something that seems so natural to me?" he demanded. Yumi wouldn't have been able to give him an answer, because in the next second she suddenly felt William's lips touch hers. She tried to push him back but his eagerness and hope drove him on. She didn't know what to do, his hands still rested tightly on hers and she could feel his hot breath in her mouth. He kissed her gently and yet, his strength was amazing. He moved his hands from hers and placed them around her neck while Yumi wrapped her fingers around his hair and tugged hard. William ignored her. _This isn't what I _want, Yumi thought. Without realizing it, she kicked him hard. She felt William suck in a breath and release her, letting him drop to the floor in front of her. Yumi felt her heart hammering in her chest.

"I told you to stop," she growled at him, not feeling a slight bit of guilt. "now get out." Her voice was as cold as liquid nitrogen. William stared at her with a mix of horror and heartbreak. Yumi didn't care and felt no regret as he limped out. As the boy left, another kid wandered in – eyebrows raised, soft brown hair limp and face generally looking uneasy. It was Ulrich. Yumi's glare diminished almost immediately. She smiled warmly and gestured Ulrich to come through. He seemed to be chuckling now that she saw him closer.

"what did you do to him?" he asked. Yumi shrugged simply and looked toward the door.

"long story short, he tried to kiss me. That's what happened," she explained. Ulrich's first reaction was that of utter horror. He seemed to imagine it and grimaced horribly. Yumi rolled her eyes and yanked him over so he'd sit next to her. He wasn't really paying attention, and allowed Yumi to maneuver him into a seat.

"wait, then why was he limping?"Though Yumi saw past his happy façade and saw how upset he really was. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few tissues and dabbed lightly at the blood on her head. Before he could do anything, Yumi had brought him into a tight hug.

"you don't fool me, kiddo. What's wrong?" she cooed. Ulrich winced when she called him "kiddo" but brushed her away gently.

"nothing, I mean…well, you really kissed him?" he said. Yumi laughed and ruffled his hair.

"don't beat around the bush. I'll get worried," she said. Ulrich smiled at her. How could anything be wrong with her? And why was it always her that got into trouble? He remembered what it had felt like to nearly lose her, and how it felt to see her with William. And now seeing her in the hospital? What had Heidi done to her?

"did Heidi do anything to you? Have you properly met her? I didn't listen to you when you were telling me what happened last time. I was too concerned with hating her," he mumbled. Yumi blinked. She saw a flash of colors and scenes in her head, but they sped through so quickly it was like a film strip run on fast forward. She cleared her throat, she was taking too long to answer.

"your cousin?" oh god, she thought, you could cut the tension with a knife, "she's…a strange girl. Something about her, its weird, spooky," she said, facing Ulrich. His gaze hadn't left her for a second. "when I went to tell her off for being irritable, I grabbed her wrist, and something happened to her. I don't know what, but something in her and my mind changed," she said. Then she smiled and laughed, "I must be losing it, you know, not a day has gone since I met her without me feeling like putting on eyeliner," she said. Ulrich could hear the fear in her voice. Nervously, hesitantly, he placed his hand on hers, not looking at her. When did I get taller than her? He thought. Yumi stared at him in amazement. Her cheeks were red with shock, and when he cleared his throat, she smiled and wrapped her other arm around his, leaning on his shoulder. Ulrich could barely breathe. He felt a spark where her head touched his shoulder, and her hand touched his.

"thank you," she said. Ulrich scoffed.

"come on, if I wasn't your rock, you'd have to rely on Odd, and come on, the dude's strong, but he's not exactly comforting," he said. Yumi laughed.

"true," she giggled, moving closer and tightening on his arm. There was silence for a few minutes. But it wasn't awkward. It was like everything was right in the world. The sun rose in the east and set in the west. The sun shone, trees grew, wars stopped, arguments were resolved. "when was the last time I could do this without feeling awkward?"she said. Ulrich shrugged.

"probably with your dad when you were seven?" he said, pulling his arm out of her grip and resting it across her shoulders. Yumi responded by wrapping her arms around his chest, feeling his muscle and warmth of his body, the steady beat of his heart. She swallowed and glanced up at him, her eyes glassy and nervous. Tentatively she moved her hand up to his cheek so he faced her.

"yeah, but I doubt I could do this with my dad," she said, before pushing her mouth against his. They both sucked in a breath, scared, nervous. But there was something natural about it. Yumi felt his soft, but strong lips on hers, and felt herself smiling helplessly. It was amazing. She was finally with him, she was finally _kissing_ him. He was so afraid, but Yumi took hold of his hand and let her other hand slide to his neck. Soon he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her back with a sudden new found confidence. After what seemed like years, though, they pulled away, staring deep into one another's eyes. They leant on one another's foreheads, smiling at each other.

"I suppose not," Ulrich laughed. Yumi grinned.

"just think what a pretty memory this is. First kiss on a hospital bed," she said. Ulrich smiled back at her, his eyes caring and gentle. He placed his hand under her chin.

"suddenly, that kind of thing doesn't matter to me anymore," he said, and kissed her again.


End file.
